<title>Modeling of thermal nondestructive evaluation techniques for composite materials</title>

Abstract

The inspection of composite structures by thermal non-destructive evaluation (TNDE) techniques based on Infrared Thermography is relatively common in the aerospace industry. However, state-of-the-art is far to be reached and there is still place for substantial improvement, in terms of development of the inspection procedures, optimization of the experimental set-up and assessment of the inversion algorithms. This requires the availability of large amounts of reference data, which can be provided in a cost-effective way by mathematically modeling the thermal behavior of the inspected structures. The numerical simulation of procedures for thermographic inspection is investigated in this work. The analysis is focused on the strategies that can be implemented to model the heat conduction processes in composite structures typical of TNDE procedures by means of commercial software packages for coupled mechanical-thermal analyses. The results of a pilot application of a commercial software packages to a real case are finally presented.

Qualitative and quantitative assessment of aerospace structures by pulsed thermography

“…Sandwich structures are another important category of composites. They consist of two stiff skins, typically metallic, plastic or composite having great mechanical strength, separated by a low-density material core spacer such as honeycomb or foam, providing better distribution of loading than a simple laminate (Marinetti et al 2000). Many aircraft parts are now produced using sandwich structures: ailerons, flaps, keels, rudders, etc.…”

“…birds or artillery, may damage (e.g. fiber breakage) the fuselage and other exposed surfaces, or atmosphere water can penetrate the core due to possible imperfections in joints (Marinetti et al 2000, Crane et al 2001.…”

Effect of endurance, speed and strength training on skin temperature measured by infrared thermography = Efecto del entrenamiento de resistencia, velocidad y fuerza en la temperatura de la piel a través de la termografía infrarroja

“…One of the most current topics on industry application are non-destructive tests (TNDE = Thermograpic Non-Destructive Evaluation), which started with the purpose of J.T. Nichols in 1935 about uniformity steel temperature test (Maldague, 2001) and it still generates studies with several structures and materials (Titman, 2001;Clark, 2003;Marinetti, 2000). Other industrial application is gas leak detection (Lewis, 2003).…”

Infrared thermography and shoulder pain in wheelchair users = Termografía infrarroja y dolor de hombro en usuarios de sillas de ruedas

“…The first group includes diverse domains, such as engineering, construction, the military, industry, the environment andastronomy, that which a long history of the use of, and strong market for, IRT. The application of IRT in these domains include, for example, the location of the base of a fire through the smoke by firefighters, the detection of building fissures in historic structures and diagnosis of buildings safety; nondestructive testing of structures; the positioning of overheating joints and sections of power lines; the location of gas and heat leaks in defective thermal insulation to improve the efficiency of heating and air-conditioning units; the inspection procedures for and optimization of the experimental set-up in the aerospace industry; mapping of surface temperature in temperature-dependent manufacturing processes; night vision, missile guidance and surveillance cameras in the military industry; surface crack detection on concrete surface and masonry bridges; the control the process, cost reduction and safety improvements in steel industry and high voltage facilities; the protection of flowers and trees; or monitoring and water pollution (26,29,71,89,110,150,208,240,244,262,287,359,402,436).…”